The referenced U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,401 describes an FM transmission system in which special recognition frequencies are used for special announcements which are not to be missed by the user of radio receivers, for example automobile radio receivers. Such announcements may, for example, be traffic announcements or sports announcements, and the like. Transmitters which radiate such special announcements can be recognized by radio receiver equipment by sensing an auxiliary carrier which is radiated in addition to the program modulation. A suitable frequency for the additional carrier, besides the program modulation, is 57 kHz which, in stereo transmitters, is radiated as the third harmonic of the 19 kHz stereo pilot tone, in synchronism therewith. The 57 kHz auxiliary carrier is phase-locked to the pilot tone of 19 kHz, so that the zero or null crossings are synchronous, and in the same crossing direction. The auxiliary carrier is used additionally for the transmission of auxiliary information, hereinafter referred to as "recognition", which are superimposed in the form of amplitude modulation on the auxiliary carrier. For a detailed discussion, the referenced U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,401, and the literature cited therein, is referred to.
One of the "recognitions" is radiated together with the announcement. The respective recognition indicates that, during radiation over the FM transmitter, an announcement is being broadcast and, therefore, will be termed herein as announcement recognition, AR for short. An announcement recognition signal--AR signal--corresponds to the signals described as the DK signals in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,401. The AR signal is within a very narrow frequency band at 125 Hz, modulating the auxiliary carrier of 57 kHz with 30% of the amplitude of the auxiliary carrier.
A receiver which is arranged to operate with the system includes a 57 kHz detector and an amplitude demodulator and switching in the audio stage. The 57 kHz detector and the amplitude demodulator control the switching of the audio output. Various switching arrangements are possible: For example, the amplitude of reproduction during the announcement could be raised to call specific attention thereto--for example to a traffic warning announcement; or, if the receiver is muted, a muting circuit is disabled; or, in a combined radio-cassette recorder, the audio section can be switched over from reproduction from the cassette to reproduction of the announcement when the announcement starts, and for switch-back to reproduction from the cassette when the announcement has terminated. Tape transport in the cassette can also be controlled to cause the cassette to stop and start in synchronism with interruption of its audio output.
The auxiliary 57 kHz carrier can provide further recognition signals. One further such recognition signal is used to characterize a specific transmitting radio station, or a geographic region. All transmitters capable of radiating the announcements which are within a specific geographical region, for example, may be assigned the same region recognition, for short RR, and provide RR signals, which correspond to the BK signals of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,401. The traffic announcements within a region generally relate to the same geographical area. The region recognition signal modulates the amplitude of the auxiliary carrier continuously with 60% of the auxiliary carrier amplitude. The band width of the various region recognition signals, and their position with respect to each other, is so selected that, with a quality of more than 20, adjacent channel separation of more than 15 db is obtained. Within the available frequency band, six RR signal frequencies have been set in one system, and so relatively positioned that the harmonics of any RR signal fall outside of any other RR signal. Suitable frequencies for region identification, that is, RR signals, are, for example 23.75 Hz, 28.27 Hz, 34.93 Hz, 39.58 Hz, 46.67 Hz, 53.98 Hz, 63.61 Hz, 75.80 Hz, 98.96 Hz and 122.85 Hz.
During an announcement, then, the auxiliary 57 kHz subcarrier is modulated by two recognition signals, namely the AR, announcement recognition, signal, and the RR, region recognition, signal. When no announcement is being given, the auxiliary 57 kHz carrier is modulated only with the RR, the region recognition, signal. Basically, any one transmitter may have a signal representative thereof assigned to it, for radiation on the auxiliary carrier, if the frequency availability of region recognition frequency is sufficient. Thus, the region recognition signal may also be used as a radio station recognition signal, based upon availability of frequencies, so that, within any one geographical area, different transmitters may have different RR frequencies assigned thereto.
The 57 kHz auxiliary or subcarrier can be used in signal-seeking or scanning receivers to cause a scanning tuner to stop and tune in the specific station which radiates the 57 kHz subcarrier, while passing all others. Since the 57 kHz frequency is the third harmonic of the 19 kHz stereo pilot tone, non-linearities in the transmitter, or in the receiver, may cause harmonics of the 19 kHz pilot tone to be erroneously recognized as a 57 kHz subcarrier, by generating a 57 kHz signal upon tuning to a transmitter which does not radiate this subcarrier at all. To prevent such ambiguities, and to avoid response to a spurious third harmonic, the detector for the 57 kHz auxiliary carrier may include an auxiliary recognitiion branch which enables the output from the detector only if a further detector also recognizes the RR (region recognition) signal. Such a system is described, for example, in German Pat. No. 25 33 946.
In one later circuit, the extent or degree of modulation of the auxiliary carrier by the RR signal is determined; if the appropriate degree of modulation of 60% is detected, scanning of the frequency band of a scanning receiver is interrupted and the receiver is locked to that station. This system operates satisfactorily within wide ranges of reception. Under some severe transmission and reception conditions, however, erroneous switching still can occur due to erroneous evaluation of the signal received and erroneous decoding of the signal which may simulate an AR signal. For example, multi-path reception may cause modulation of the 57 kHz auxiliary carrier in such a manner that the AR modulation is simulated, thus triggering erroneous switch-over of the audio stage. This situation may occur, for example, if a vehicle is traveling at a given speed along a divider or picket fence which, by the fortuitous coincidence of spacing of pickets or supports, speed of the passing vehicle, and terrain, or other fortuitous conditions, causes modulation of the 57 kHz carrier at a frequency erroneously simulating the AR frequency.